Customer Reviews

Brother to the Wind

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He may have left Nashville, but Nashville hasn't left him

I've probably heard many of singer-songwriter Craig Bickhardt's bag of more than 800 songs, but they were always by artists like Willie Nelson, or Johnny Cash (I missed the record he made with fellow Nashville songwriters Thom Schuyler and Fed Knoblock when they recorded as SBK). But, after 24 years of toiling in Nashville - and doing many nights at the famous Bluebird Cafe - Bickhardt returned to his suburban Philadelphia roots last year and did a "showcase" at the 2008 Philly Folk Festival. That's where I first heard him sing his own songs.

This new CD shows that Bickhardt can perform his own songs (8 of the 12 tracks on the CD are collaborations with other Nashville-based writers or, in one case, his adaptation of a John Renbourn classic, "Lord Franklin", with passion. And many of Bickhardt's better-known performer friends are here to support him. Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines appear on two tracks, Janis Ian, Maura O'Connell and Beth Nielsen Chapman each help out on one. The musicians include Nashville's best, like Byron House.

But it's Bickhardt's words - and the way he phrases them - that make this an excellent album. The standout track for me is "This Old House" (with Ian singing harmony), in which an old homestead tells it's own history. It's just a perfect song. Runner up, in my opinion, is "The Real Game" where Bickhardt compares the million-dollar salaries of Major League Baseball players with neighborhood kids playing for the "fun of it".

I'd really have liked to have the lyrics printed in the package (after all Bickhardt writes "poetry set to music"). But these are small quibbles.

I'll be looking forward to Bickhardt making a return trip to Nashville (where these tracks were recorded over a 13 month period) and interpreting more of his wonderful songs.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

I heard him years ago on CMT or somewhere, and have been searching for a song he did ever since. I liked his one album so much I purchased another one! His voice is soothing and I just love the words. His music has a folk kinda ring to it.